1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the process of testing computer software. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for automating the process of globalization testing computer software.
2. Related Art
Computer software to be widely distributed throughout an international marketplace should ideally be tested in all of the possible computing environments in which the software is likely to run. For example, in order to ensure that a piece of software operates properly, the software should be tested on all possible combinations of operating system versions, such as Windows™98, Windows 2000, Windows NT, and Windows XP, and interface languages, such as Chinese, Korean, Japanese, German, French, and English. This type of testing is referred to as “globalization testing.”
Globalization testing can be an extremely time-consuming task. Testing a piece of computer software typically entails locating a computer system upon which to perform the test, and reserving the computer system for the duration of the test. It also involves determining if the computer system includes the correct operating system and interface language combination, and if not, loading the correct operating system and interface language combination. Next, the testing process involves loading the software to be tested and performing the test. After the testing process is complete, the computer system is released, so that another user can test another piece of computer software.
This testing process can be challenging because the test computer system is often located in a test laboratory that has limited access, or is located at a remote site. Moreover, since there are many possible combinations of operating systems and interface languages, providing a dedicated computer system for each possible combination is prohibitively expensive. Additionally, because many users may potentially use the test computer systems, scheduling time on the test computer systems can be a problem.
Configuring a computer system for testing can be a time-consuming process. The process typically involves loading a different operating system and interface language combination onto the computer system, which requires the user, or a person acting on the user's behalf, to physically access the computer system. This person typically has to reboot the computer system and select a partition that contains the desired operating system and interface language. If no currently available partition includes the desired operating system and interface language, a partition must be created with the desired operating system and interface language combination. Note that this configuration process is manual, and is consequently prone to error.
Hence, what is needed is a method and an apparatus for automating the process globalization testing computer software without the problems described above.